When it comes to India - Pakistan I am pretty much a romantic. I still hope to see a EU like no visa zone for sub continent travel and increased trade and commerce with the "Land of the Pure". In my mind they make far better neighbours than Afghanistan.
Not that i did not hurt at Miandad's six (incidentally my first cricket memory) or jump for joy at Venkatesh Prasad knocking back Aamer Sohails off stump. Pakistan have always been the enemy, be it cricket or Kargil. Over the years however, the team i love to hate in international cricket has been England - i suppose i still suffer from colonial angst!. This transition was no doubt influenced by the sheer talent of a Wasim Akram, a Waqar Younis, a Mushtaq Ahmed and countless other talented Pakistan cricketers who we watched in awe, wished they played for India and longed to be able to cheer for unabashedly in public (when they were not playing India of course) instead of silently admiring them lest anyone accuse us of supporting Pakistan.
The only opportunity we got before the IPL came upon us was the odd Asia XI or India-Pak v Sri Lanka match (during the 96 World Cup which was not properly telecast and was only one game anyway - i still remember Sachin catching Jayasuriya of Akram). The IPL however changed all that. I am a die hard KKR fan and quite frankly have not got much joy from the IPL so far (in fact the initial part of IPL 2 was my toughest week as a sports fan ever). However watching Shoaib Akhtar take 4 Delhi Daredevil wickets in 3 overs with a packed Eden Gardens cheering him on has undoudtebly been one of the most joyful moments of my cricketing life. We could finally legally cheer and support the Pakistani players - all thanks to the IPL.
The IPL provided a framework and could have been the vehicle that could increase people to people contact beyond imagination. The IPL could have been positioned as the Indian Subcontinent Premiere League. The three new teams could have been Karachi, Colombo and Dhaka - maybe even owned by Indian business men and having Indian players. Or if you had to have added Indian cities, maybe you could have added Bangladesh to the KKR catchment, North Sri Lanka to CSK and Pakistan Punjab to the Kings XI Punjab. With Bengal, Punjab and Tamil pride being festered by the respective sides it could have led to improving relations beyond conceivable present thought.
Instead what do we have - a stupid joke with the Pakistani cricketers being humiliated and therefore the average well meaning Pakistani public. Can you just imagine what would have happened if Dhoni, Sehwag and Yuvraj had been similarly snubbed at the Big Bash auction in Australia? I am sure we would have cancelled tours for the next decade.
Sure there is terrorism, and from what we hear and see there has been inadequate action across the border to stop operations against India but it is a common problem. And the average Pakistani cannot be castigated. It is an evil which must be fought together, not playing cricket and not singing the same songs together will not end terrorism. I have seen talkshows where the average Pakistani have questioned the establishment for not acting against the LeT. Now why would an average Pakistani do that? He would do that because he probably loves watching a Sachin and a Dravid straight drive, because he cries while watching Taare Zameen Pe and because he knows peace and prosperity is the only way forward. He is also fighting against the same perceived political compulsions that may never bring about and amicable solution for the Kashmir valley. Incidents like the IPL fiasco do more harm to Indo Pak relations by quietening theses very voices of peace from across the border.
In my view the only way to heal the present situation will be for the two boards to come together and announce the expansion or plans thereof. There is a precedence with the Lahore Badshahs and the ICL, and if Mr. Thackeray and other similar voices so desire we need not have matches in Mumbai. Otherwise this slap on the face of the Pakistani cricket fan (and than would include 90 percent of the country) will take a lot of time to heal and set back relationships further. Anyway i hope better sense prevail and people more adept at home and foreign affairs than me do whatever necessary to improve the situation. Messrs Tharoor, Krishna, Pawar, Chidambaram hope you are doing something about it.
On a selfish note imagine this KKR side with "home" based Bangladeshi players for 2011 and a big buy and captain in Shahid Afridi...Dada as manager after finally hanging up his boots.
1. Chris Gayle
2. Tamim Iqbal
3. Shahid Afridi
4. David Hussey
5. Shakib - Al - Hasan
6. Manoj Tiwary
7. Ganpathy Vignesh
8. Wriddhiman Saha
9. Mashrafe Mortaza
10. Shane Bond
11. Ishant Sharma
Hell... we may even stand a decent chance! Boom Boom! Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo!
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